GUIDE TO THE MAGNIFICENT SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS OF TORAJA Copyright 2016 i | Guide to the Magnificent Sights and Attractions ofTORAJA NOT FOR SALE DISCOVER THE SACRED HIGHLANDS CONTENTS After a wondrous journey that moves you through interchanging sights of stunning granite cliffs, 2. Map of Indonesia 24. Ballo’ 36. Sample of itinerary lofty mountains, and vast sea, you will arrive in Toraja. 3. Map of Sulawesi 25. Pa’gellu 38. Desa (Village of) Sillanan The Torajans are an indigenous Austronesian ethnic group located in a mountainous region of 4. Highlands Wisdom 26. Tau Tau 39. Words to get you (almost) Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia. Alongside their rich culture and traditions, Torajan also treasures 8. Toraja Ethnic 28. The peak of Sesean anywhere in Toraja & abundant myths about the origin of its name. Learn the history of Toraja ethnic, where its people 12. Toraja Nature 30. Things to know before you go Indonesia have been shaped by location and blessed with great longevity.’ 16. Local Marvels 32. How to get there 40. About the logo & On this land, well-preserved ancestral traditions implemented within the peaceful communal 19. Art of the Trade 33. Map of Toraja Toraja DMO society. A new idea like Christianity synchronizes harmoniously with local customs, making 22. Pa’piong 34. Tourism Business Listing Toraja someplace special. Witness the dramatic ceremony, family bound, culinary and art of the only living megalithic culture on modern earth. PUBLISHER DESIGN Enveloped by magnificent natural landscape, Toraja is a life-changing experience waiting to be Toraja DMO with support from Swisscontact Swisscontact and Toraja DMO explored. The nature of Toraja, once it casts its spells, anchors you in its net of bewilderment and SECO (State Secretariat for Economic eternally. Let the land embrace you and allow the air to sing you a melody of serenity. Affairs) of the Swiss Confederation. No part of PRINTER this publication may be copied or reproduced in Daito Printing, Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia any form by any mean The belief that Torajans hold dear to their heart are reflected in every hand-crafted wonder DISTRIBUTOR conceived all by genuine intentions that these products will be beneficial to their community and PHOTOGRAPHY Toraja DMO, Makale, Tana Toraja, Toraja DMO, Swisscontact, Djuna Ivereigh Sulawesi Selatan, Indonesia the world around them. Coffee and handwoven fabrics are known to bear the signature taste and (www.djunapix.com) patterns Toraja are famed for. INQUIRY To advertise please contact [email protected] EMAIL. WEBSITE Visit Toraja @VisitToraja @visittoraja [email protected] www.visittoraja.com ii | Guide to the Magnificent Sights and Attractions ofTORAJA 1 | Guide to the Magnificent Sights and Attractions ofTORAJA WHERE WE ARE INDONESIA SULAWESI Archipelago of amazement is definitely not an overstatement. Indonesia is the celestial haven Formerly known as Celebes, Sulawesi for your mind to wonder and your soul to wander. An archipelago comprises of more than is an island part of four Greater 17,000 islands, hundreds of ethnic groups speaking many different languages, and the home Sunda Islands, situated between of thousands diverse attractions; each with its own unique values. Indonesia will most likely Borneo and Maluku Islands. This satisfy your inner desire for adventure, leisure or even spiritual experience. What you’ll see enormous and charismatic island has so much to offer; meet the people might be beyond your wildest dreams. from the highlands, Torajans who live with their cultures that have been independently evolve through the dramatic geography and topography, down to sea level of Wakatobi’s white and sandy beaches and Togian Islands which is occupied by fringe coral reefs and variety of fish; and the Bugis clan who are mainly inhabiting Sulawesi’s coastal regions and well known as Indonesia’s most famous seafarers. Further going down to the interior side; Sulawesi is shaded by impenetrable mountains and jungles that are quite filled with wildlife. 2 | Guide to the Magnificent Sights and Attractions ofTORAJA 3 | Guide to the Magnificent Sights and Attractions ofTORAJA THE MOST EFFECTIVE ART HIGHLANDS OF SURVIVAL IS HARMONY The arable land of Toraja is very land. Pilfer or theft is uncommon, untold, since they are ingrained and and complicated requirements of in Toraja community, it grows into RECOMMENDED PLACES limited due to its rocky terrain. It is even for foreigners visiting. The passed through practice. those paramount ceremonies. After reference points which determine isolated by natural barrier, making it plants are nourished not only by approved by a traditional council, human relations. To express their TO DISCOVER THE WISDOM hard to trade with outsiders. On this viable sources of nutrients, but with When you venture around Toraja, the new glorious creation will then relations with others, Torajans say SACRED HIGHLANDS condition, ancient people in Toraja heart as well as part of the circle of you’ll notice that Tongkonan is have its significant role amongst that ‘their houses are united’ or that must have relied on very limited life that adjoins the land. always paired by rice storage called Torajan family tree. they are ‘brothers and sisters’ in a resources they had. Alang. Alang symbolizes father certain house, granting themselves Ke’TE Ke’SU As the teaching representing the that feeds his family, as opposed CIRCLING BACK TO a profound sense of belonging and From the sheer size of the village, This living condition turns Toraja ancestral spirits themselves, Tallu to Tongkonan maternal role as THE BEGINNING reinforcing their clan system. The the ancient Tongkonan buildings into a self-fulfilling ecosystem. And Lolona is the ultimate bond that caregiver. A larger Tongkonan is No matter how far a Torajan travels, bond that links Torajan family is not seem to loom over as sentinels of with limited options at hand, Toraja binds all living entities in this also supported by the other elements his/her life will always circle back merely one of blood, but of respect the Torajan lore itself. Even the stone ancestors chose the oldest and most mythical highland. It is the solemn such as watering hole, animal pen, to the Tongkonan. The moment of and affection in each other’s life. stairs appear to be woven for giants compelling art of survival: harmony. sentinel that watches over in silence, family graves, and plantation which birth, the bonding of love, and the Lively atmosphere can be genuinely to step upon. Ke’te Ke’su is one of Torajans believe there’s a tie (lolo) existing through the veins of every make the complex a small self- final resting place is and always will encountered in a Tongkonan. the most pristine and traditional that attaches human, animals and breathing organism, spreading sufficient ecosystem. be in a Tongkonan building, where Members of a clan oftentimes Tongkonan complexes throughout plants in one system. In order for through the people themselves. every other family members will join gather to discuss important affairs all Toraja, and it will capture your human to survive, one must care for To build a Tongkonan, a family in on the festivities. like marriages, heritages, or social attention with each glance. animals and plants. If one of the three TONGKONAN, branch must carry out five stages conflicts, enabling themselves to is harmed, all of them will suffer the THE CELESTIAL of an intricate ceremony. Extended EMERGING AFFINITY resolve problems through intimate PA L AWa’ consequences. This philosophy is MICROCOSM family members will have to work Tongkonan yields more than just and amiable way. Adorned with ornaments of sun called Tallu Lolona. Torajan believe that a house is not side by side to share high expenses shelter. As a very significant point circles and rooster carvings, just a home, it’s a small universe. Palawa’ Tongkonan complex is a Tallu Lolona is a teaching of Aluk Tongkonan, a wonder of architecture breathtaking sight to see. Fix your Todolo, an ancestral religion dating from the dawn of Toraja civilization, eyes on historical remnants of the back to Torajan mythical past. is far from a simple abode. The ancestral war of the 11th century, This ancient faith teaches Torajans traditional house represents with all the majestic buffalo horns to respect their parents, elders, an intricate relation between proclaiming regality in every inch. ancestors, and the balance of life in generations. It serves a dutiful general. purpose to uphold peace and value TUMAKKE’ in the society. Tumakke’ is the home of the This philosophy lives on, even when extraordinary Tongkonan, whose modernization makes Toraja no A Tongkonan belongs to To Ma’rapu, roof is exclusively made from longer dependent on harmony to a family clan related by blood. To andesite rock and soil mixture, survive. Toraja is still and will strive Parengnge’, an elder of such a clan giving it a solid sense of security for the balance between human, is responsible to teach the extended found nowhere else. Sun, buffalo animals and plants. The prized family within his Tongkonan horns, plaiting, and geometrical water buffalo, for example, is often about the ancestral ways of life. A patterns are artistically engraved to massaged, hand-fed, bathed and let Tongkonan has its own set of family the Tongkonan of Tumakke’. loose in the field to relax. The people law and value, executed through are very gentle in nature, not only Tarian Pitu or seven ethnic justice towards the animals, but to each systems. The lack of writing culture human being venturing into their doesn’t seem to leave the legacy 4 | Guide to the Magnificent Sights and Attractions ofTORAJA 5 | Guide to the Magnificent Sights and Attractions ofTORAJA ADVERTISEMENT PT Sulawesi Adventure Stone grave, Sesean Suloara 6 | Guide to the Magnificent Sights and Attractions ofTORAJA 7 | Guide to the Magnificent Sights and Attractions ofTORAJA stories about a royal descendant ceremony, and the famed cliff or cave GRANDIOSE PARTING, Rambu Solo’, is the apotheosis of with a belief that with each buffaloes Torajan culture in its essence.